Alan A. brings his gay pop sound to Vancouver

“It’s actually very much Brit Pop to which I’ve added some pretty cheeky, gay-oriented lyrics, whether a bit sleazy or sometimes tragic,” said Alan A. “The second album I’m currently working on has more of an electro sound, but it’s still poppy.”

A recent arrival from London, the young singer who goes simply by Alan A., escaped the Queen’s Jubilee and upcoming Olympics for the relative quiet of Vancouver.

“I needed a break from busy London,” explained Alan A. “Vancouver is the perfect place, I live by Stanley Park and I enjoy the relaxing, stress-free city it is, and the kindness of the people here. And the weather is not an issue, we have the same one!”

With musical influences as diverse as David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Alphabeat and Paloma Faith, Alan A. says his newest remixed single Pleasure is both very happy and very much him.

“I thought, what is the part of myself that amuses people? I realised it is when I get quite sexual, horny and I start cruising everyone I fancy! That was the first one of a large number of cheeky songs.”

That cheekiness and his sexually charged persona translates to the video for the single as well, and it is perhaps not all that ironic to hear the mix for this version of Pleasure, now available on iTunes (complete with explicit content warning), comes courtesy of DJ Clay “Grinder” Jenkins.

“We actually met on Grindr,” explained Alan A. “I was looking for a new arranger and a new sound to start the second album, and he wrote he was a producer on his profile. So we started talking, decided to work on a song to see where it would lead, and I got a really nice sound, so we are working on a whole album.”

Originally appearing on his 2008 album Ambiguity (explicit content), Alan A. says as an independent artist it isn’t unusual that it has taken four years for this remix to be released as a single.

“When you’re a signed artist and you have a record company paying you and a whole team working for you, it’s easier to release a new single every couple of months,” he explained. “But most of us independent artists have to have a full-time job to pay the bills.”

Fans didn’t have to wait another four years though as his latest single Come Over will be released soon and a new album is scheduled for later this year.

Find out more at http://www.alan-a.com. Please note that the site, music and video all come with explicit content warnings and may not be suitable for all viewers.